What are placental stem cells and what are placental stem cells used for? As placental stem cells get explored for a variety of therapeutic applications, these questions become increasingly important. The opportunity to collect placental stem cells is also a once in a lifetime opportunity. [Read more…]
Celularity – Big Bucks, Billionaire Investors, Bold Dreams
Celularity is a biotechnology company that specializes in leveraging biologically active cell populations within the postpartum human placenta. Founded on the pioneering work of Robert Hariri, MD, PhD, in human placenta-derived cellular therapeutics and biomaterials, Celularity is uniquely positioned to harness the potential of most biocreative event on earth: human birth.
I had the honor of interviewing Celularity’s CEO, Dr. Robert Hariri, a pioneer and visionary within the stem cell industry. As a surgeon, biomedical scientist and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Hariri was previously the Founder and CEO of one of the world’s largest human cellular therapeutics companies, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, a division of Celgene Corporation. In August 2017, Hariri brought Celularity Inc. into the spotlight by announcing a successful Series A financing with contributions from influential investors, including Sorrento Therapeutics, United Therapeutics Corporation, and Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI).
On February 15th, 2018, the company broke even bigger news when it announced that it had raised $250 million in funding, with contributions from the Genting Group, Tony Robbins, and Dreyfus Family Office, among others.
Below is Part 2 of a two-part interview with Celularity’s CEO, Dr. Robert Hariri. Click here to read Part 1.
How the Cord Blood and Tissue Market is Changing in 2018
The global cord blood and tissue banking market is consolidating, driven by the emergence of holding companies” and aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. This is creating risks for cord blood market participants, as well as new opportunities. Serious threats to the industry include:
- Low rates of stored cord blood utilization
- Utilization of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells as alternative sources of stem cells for HSCT
- Growing prevalence of haploidentical transplantation
- Expensive transplant procedures, ranging from $200-300K
- Difficulty educating Obstetricians about the future value of cellular therapies
- Low rates of market penetration (~2.9% in the U.S., based on year-over-year storage increases and CDC birth rate data)
- Low rates of cord blood awareness among expectant parents
Pluristem Partners with Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center for Phase I/II Trial in Steroid-Refractory Chronic GvHD
- Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center will act as the sponsor of the study
- PLX-PAD cells have demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models of GvHD
HAIFA, Israel, Nov. 06, 2017 — Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI) (TASE:PSTI), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) to conduct a Phase I/II trial in PLX-PAD cell therapy for the treatment of Steroid-Refractory Chronic Graft-versus-Host-Disease (GvHD).
The trial will be an investigator initiated study. As such, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center will support the study and will be responsible for its design and implementation. Dr. Ron Ram, Director of the Hematology Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Unit for the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center will act as principal investigator.
GvHD is a potentially lethal complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from a donor. When a patient receives a donor’s stem cells, the transplanted cells identify the patient’s body as foreign and attack it. The chronic form of GvHD occurs at least 100 days following the transplantation. The GvHD market is predicted to exceed $500 million by 2023. [Read more…]
$7.9M Granted to nTRACK Collaborative Project to Study Pluristem’s PLX-PAD Cells
- Grant from European Union’s Horizon 2020 program to nTRACK project designed to study nanoparticle effects on PLX-PAD cell viability and functionality
- Grant brings total to approximately $25 Million (€21.8 million) in funding from Horizon 2020 program to cover clinical and research activity for PLX-PAD
HAIFA, Israel, Oct. 02, 2017 — Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI) (TASE:PSTI), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, today announced that a $7.9 million (€6.8 million) non-dilutive grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program has been awarded to nTRACK, a collaborative project carried out by an international consortium led by LEITAT. [Read more…]
